Thursday, 29 August 2013

I'm feeling very grateful for all the amazing opportunities in my life ... a recent increase in custom orders for jewellery with special meaning, a new development in my Etsy shop, a joint venture for a new craft fair, and new stockists for my work.

As well as looking ahead to a busy and productive Autumn, I am looking back with gratitude to everything I have learned and enjoyed as part of the Fourseven Collective.

Sadly our lovely shop at Heartlands is no longer 'Open ... please come in ...' but is now Closed. Due to a number of challenges and changes faced by a number of our members we found it no longer possible to continue with our venture at Heartlands.The good news is that we are all moving on in our individual businesses, and we have joint ventures planned both as a collective and with colleagues.

You can find links to websites and on-line shops at our facebook page, where we will also post updates on upcoming craft fairs and other events.

Here in her own words she explains the background to Spectrum, the charity that has acceptance and respect for all of us being different at it's heart.

"Through my experiences as a foster mother I purposely
built relationships with the mothers of babies in my care. Their stories broke my heart, broken
childhood and families, drug and alcohol dependency, mental and physical health
issues, financial stress and the agony of having a child removed. The mothers
love their babies but in some cases life circumstances are just too
overwhelming and they are no longer able to care for their children.

So I began to wonder how different these mothers
stories would be had they received support and encouragement earlier.... when
they needed it most... before the baby was born, during labor and delivery, in
the early weeks of parenting, when post partum depression hit, when financial
stress became too much, when they were planning to leave an abusive
relationship.... before hope was lost."

Sally soon realised that what they needed was
someone to spend time with them in the home and for someone to spend time with
their children so they could invest in self care. So Spectrum was formed and she began to recruit
trained and experienced caregivers and mentors to support these mothers along
with a doula to work with mothers prenatally.

"We will love you to be the best you can be"

This could well be the motto for Spectrum, in fact these are Devon's own words, Sally's adorable daughter who helps nurture the foster babies in their family, giving cuddles and telling them: "we will love you to be the best you can be".

Sunday, 19 May 2013

I have recently had cause to think about what my work means to me, and when I found myself saying "It's not about the money", I had to really consider what I meant.Actually, it is about the money, as this is my livelihood and the only way I can earn the money I need to pay my way. When I moved to Cornwall five years ago an unexpected change of circumstance meant that I found myself in a position of having to re-establish my financial independence. Within the space of a year I went from working at a well paid job teaching adult literacy, to planned non-employment with a partner, to being on my own again, but this time as carer to my dear mum.

I've always been a creative/maker and so thought I would try to start earning some money by selling my work at local craft fairs. After a few disastrous episodes including my display taking flight at an outdoor fair, fairs with no advertising and no visitors, and my table collapsing, I started to find my feet with fairs that combined Vintage and Craft.Gaining confidence, I took my work into a couple of shops in town, and was delighted to be accepted by 'Two Little Birds' and 'Tyto' boutique. Although these two shops have now closed, I am indebted to them for believing in my work. I was also delighted to be invited to sell at Avellana Crafts in Mevagissey. I opened my shop on Etsy and really began to sell.I now also have shops with 'Two Red Trees', 'The Honesty Shop' and 'Not On The High Street'.In August 2011 I joined Studio 47 in Redruth, which later moved to Heartlands Cornwall and became the Fourseven Collective.

Now I recognise what my work really means to me, and it is about more than the money I make when my work sells. It's about the story behind every purchase: the set of three earrings I sent to Canada as opening night gifts for a musical production of 'The Secret Garden'; the 'Joy' pendant sent to the States for the baby shower of a Christian singer; the 'Bright Dream' locket that was a present for a music teacher.It's also about being able to create my own business and support myself through my creativity, and to know "I did that". That's satisfying. I'm also having to learn a heck of a lot about selling, both in actual shops and on-line, and about being a professional.

But most of all it's about being part of a community, especially with Fourseven Collective. To be part of a group of artists/makers here in Cornwall, and to run the shop at Heartlands with them is probably the best thing I've done since I moved here, as far as my work is concerned. We have been open just over a year now, and I'm looking forward to a fabulous summer. Rather than 'giving up the day job', I have created my own job, except it keeps me busy morning, noon and night, rather than just the day!

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

The Honesty Shop is an on-line gift shop with a difference - combining a choice of gift with a choice of charity.

That's not the only difference: the London Honesty Shop is housed in a classic 50 year old double-decker bus operating from tourist locations in central London. 'Trusty' is the world's first unattended city shop, where payments are made in honesty envelopes into a custom-made letter box.

Honesty shops are typically seen at the farm or garden gate, where products are left for sale with an 'honesty' jar for customers to put their money in, usually for plants, flowers and vegetables. Trusty takes this to a new and intriguing level.

The bus helps showcase smaller items in the range but at the same time introduce more gifts that are available on-line at www.thehonestyshop.com.

The rural honesty shop was a common sight in Norfolk where I used to live, and often seen here in Cornwall, which may be why I was delighted to be asked if I would like to have a selling space with The Honesty Shop.

Friday, 29 March 2013

'The poetry of earth is never dead ...' The words of John Keats' poem 'The grasshopper and the cricket' speak of summer and winter as parts of the same, wonderful cycle of the seasons, each with its own beauty and melody.

Friday, 1 February 2013

This is the festival that celebrates the beginning of spring, the first signs of life now beginning to emerge. After the weeks of rain and cold, it's a welcome reminder that the first snowdrops are flowering, the first lambs are being born, and the energy of the earth can truly be felt stirring.

About Me

I live in beautiful Falmouth, south-west Cornwall and share my home with my lovely lurcher Molly. She came to me from the St Francis Home for Animals near Newquay and we both love exploring the fantastic coast and country walks around here.
I design and make jewellery that is inspired by music and poetry, often using vintage sheet music and poetry text. I also make paper lampshades using sheet music, maps and other paper.